Pope Francis hits out at EU migration divisions at start of Greek visit

Pope Francis yesterday blamed the EU's nationalist divisions for a lack of coordination on migration as he began a landmark trip to Greece, aiming to improve complicated relations with the country's Orthodox Church.

Francis said that Europe was "torn by nationalist egoism" on migration during a meeting with EU vice-president Margaritis Schinas, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, among other officials.

The European community "continues to temporise" and "appears at times blocked and uncoordinated" instead of being an "engine of solidarity" on migration, the pope said.

"Today, and not only in Europe, we are witnessing a retreat from democracy," he said, warning against populism's  "easy answers".

Francis has long championed refugees, calling them "protagonists of a terrible modern Odyssey."

He will return to the island of Lesbos today which he visited in 2016 during the early years of the migration crisis.

The 84-year-old's visit to the Greek capital is the first by a pope since John Paul II in 2001, which in turn was the first papal visit to Athens since the 1054 Schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Flying in after a two-day trip to Cyprus, the pope landed shortly after 0900 GMT in the Greek capital, where security was heightened over expected protests by Orthodox hardliners among whom anti-papal sentiment remains strong.

Strong wind offered an unexpected challenge, with Francis coming down the stairs of the plane skullcap in hand.

Francis was scheduled to see the head of the Church of Greece Archbishop Ieronymos later yesterday, followed by members of Greece's small Catholic community, which represent just 1.2 percent of the majority-Orthodox population.

Francis flies back to Rome on Monday.

Up to 2,000 police are deployed in Athens to monitor possible disruptions by Orthodox hardliners, who blame the Catholics for the Schism and the 1204 sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.

Reciprocal excommunications exchanged between the two churches after the Schism were only lifted in 1965.

Authorities banned protests in the Athens centre, and many Greeks have expressed apathy over the visit.

"Perhaps it is important to migrants in Greece who are in need. We the Orthodox expect nothing in particular," said Periklis, owner of a religious icon shop in Athens.

Relations with the Church of Greece are much better than they were ahead of John Paul's visit, Pierre Salembier, head of the Jesuit Catholic community in Greece, told AFP.

But he said there were still some "known anti-Catholic fanatics" within the Church's governing body.